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Iraqi VP meets Kurdistan Premier on oil
draft law, Kirkuk
24.5.2007 |
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May 24, 2007
Baghdad, -- Iraqi Vice President Adel Abdul
Mahdi met with Kurdistan Prime Minister Nechirvan
Barzani on oil draft law and Kirkuk in the Iraqi
capital Baghdad, Mahdi's office said on Wednesday.
"Vice President Adel Abdul Mahdi discussed with
Iraq's Kurdistan Premier Nechirvan Barzani several
political, security and economic issues, including
oil draft law and the implementation of the Iraqi
constitution's Article 140 on normalizing the
situation in Kirkuk city," Mahdi's office said in a
statement received by VOI.
Iraqi cabinet adopted a draft law on oil investment
in Iraq including Kurdistan region and sent it to
the Iraqi parliament for debate and voting. The
proposed law gives the central government in Baghdad
more powers to control investment contracts of oil
in the country, a matter rejected by Kurds who
demand more jurisdictions be given to the local
government when conducting contracts with companies
concerning oil in the region.
Also the Kurds urged Iraqi leaders to implement
Article 140 of the Iraqi constitution regarding the
statues of oil-rich-Kirkuk. Kurds claim that the
former regime had changed the demographic
distribution of the population by alluring more
Arabs to settle in Kirkuk and drive out Kurds during
70-80s.
Article 140 stipulates that situation in Kirkuk
should be normalized as it was before the alleged
Arab migration to the city, to conduct a census and
to hold a referendum to decide whether or not the
city would join Kurdistan region.
Kirkuk,
lies just south border of the Kurdistan autonomous
region,
is a mixed city
of majority Kurds and
minority of Arabs, Turkmen.
According to the statement, Abdul Mahdi said "we
have no differences as to the agreed principles but
we need to work out solid mechanisms to secure the
good implementation of the article."
The meeting also touched upon issues related to the
budget of the Kurdish local fighters (Peshmerga)
within the Iraqi national budget, the statement
added.
"Both sides stressed the importance of continuing
concerted efforts to gain security and stability as
well as supporting the ongoing political process in
the country," the statement added.
Abdul Mahdi, according to the statement, said "we
should adhere at the mechanisms set up by the
constitution to solve all disputable issues."
VOI
**
Kirkuk city is a Kurdistani city and it lies just
south border of the Kurdistan autonomous region and
it is not under the full control of Kurdistan
Regional Government administration, its population
is a mix of majority Kurds and minority of Arabs,
Turkmen.
The former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein forced
about 250,000 Kurdish residents to give up their
homes to Arabs in the 1970s, to "Arabize" the city
and the region's oil industry.
Based on Iraq's Constitution a referendum is to be
held in late 2007 to decide whether the oil-rich
Kurdish province should be annexed to the safe
semiautonomous Kurdistan region in Iraq's north.
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